Pollution alert in Russia

Why are fires so dangerous? Not only because of the terrible consequences that the fire leaves behind, but because of the High levels of pollution of air that harm the health of an entire population. This has happened during the recent fires around Moscow.

According to information from the Ministry of Emergency Situation of Russia (MSE), the levels multiply by six the permitted toxic substances standard, beating all historical marks. And this is not the worst. According to the Russian forestry agency, forest fires have also affected areas contaminated by radioactivity , product of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe of 1986.

Given the seriousness of the situation, the ministry decided to maintain the extinction tasks in the province of Moscow 24 hours a day, instead of reducing them to surveillance shifts during the night.

Closure of diplomatic representations for pollution

According to the correspondent of the newspaper El País, some countries, such as Canada, Poland, Germany, Austria and Israel, took measures to reduce their diplomatic staff in Moscow.

For its part, the US government has recommended that its citizens seriously consider whether they should travel to the areas affected by the fires. In its fight against the fire, Russia received aid of several countries, like Italy, Germany, Poland, the Ukraine, Belarus and Bulgaria, although the Kremlin has not requested aid.

Nuclear danger due to forest fires

More than 550 active lights have made all the alarms jump over the possible danger of a radioactive pollution . According to Vladimir Chuprov, a Greenpeace activist in the area, the risk of radioactive contamination has been added to environmental damage. Three fires erupted in the heavily polluted Bryansk region on the border with Belarus and Ukraine.

The environmental group accused the authorities of underestimating the danger, claiming that there were 20 outbreaks in areas contaminated with radioactivity. "The high radiation will not cause a new pollution comparable to that of Chernobyl, but smaller quantities should not be underestimated," Chuprov said. More than 1,700 square kilometers were affected by verno fires in Russia.